I Turn To You
by sylfai64
Summary: The story starts post "Time Bomb" and continues on. It also includes my take on EC scenes that we did not see in the show. *I do not own CSI Miami and its character, no copyright infringement intended.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! This is my very first fan fiction and I would appreciate comments, suggestions, and criticisms. I am fairly new to this writing foray and reading your comments would help me determine if it's worthwhile to pursue this.

Timeline: Story starts post "Time Bomb" and continues on till Season 9( maybe).

"I Turn To You"

Chapter 1

Just as Eric stepped out of Talbot's office, his phone rang.

"Hey Cal! Yeah, I'm on my way. I'll be there in twenty. Okay-bye."

He can't wait to go home; a place he now shared with Calleigh. Thinking about it puts a smile in his face-they have gone through a lot this past year- his second brain surgery, his leaving CSI and Calleigh and just recently he almost lost her again to smoke inhalation. Hopefully, everything will move smoothly for them from this time on.

The past 2 weeks has been a chaos both at SA's office and at the MDPD. He just completed his report to Talbot about the whole Stetler Affair. He was sad about Nevin's death and he has to look over the evidence again just to make sure that there won't be any snag to the case against Stetler. He will get what he deserved—at the least, he felt he owed this to his late colleague. This whole case brought in a huge impact to him, his job, his former team and most of all his relationship with Calleigh. He can't believe he made the mistake of betraying Calleigh's trust again. At the end of the day they were able to resolve it -well, he has to go all out with his apologies and his charms just to be able to sleep in their bed that night.

For the past days Eric has been contemplating on quitting his job and going back to being a CSI. With Stetler gone, the anti-fraternization rule has been re-evaluated and revised, and he was happy to learn that it would now allow him and Cal to work together again. Being away from Calleigh when he went to Puerto Rico made him realize how much she meant to him. For the first time in his life he felt what being in love is. He hated himself for hurting her. He headed back to Miami with only one mission- to win Calleigh back. Thankfully Calleigh was very receptive about his reasons for leaving and accepted him back.

On the way home he stopped by the liquor store to get a bottle of champagne, Cal's favourite, to celebrate. He is going to tell Calleigh that he tendered his resignation tonight over dinner. He is not sure what his girlfriend's reaction would be but he is hoping that it would be make her happy. Actually, he wasn't only planning to tell her about his plan of going back to work at the Lab but he thought it would also be a great opportunity to ask her to marry him. The engagement ring was purchased months ago in Puerto Rico- he meant to propose to her right away after coming back but never had the courage.

Calleigh was humming along to the song playing in her favourite radio station while preparing dinner. She did not tell Eric that she went for a doctor's appointment that afternoon. Two days ago she had a positive pregnancy test and set an appointment with her doctor just to make sure. She wanted to be certain that she is indeed pregnant before telling him. The doctor's clinic told her that results will not be in till tomorrow morning. This whole thing seems to be exciting but at the same time overwhelming for her. She was lost in thought when she heard the front door open.

"Babe, I'm home! Hmmm, smells good- what's cooking? He said as he approached to give Calleigh a peck on the lips.

"Spicy Cajun shrimps with lots of garlic- just the way you like it."

"Then it goes perfectly with the bottle of Champagne I brought!"

"Champagne? Are we supposed to celebrate something?" Calleigh asked as she was putting their plates on the table. "It depends on ... hey I'm hungry, can we talk about this over dessert?"

Dinner talk was about Calleigh's case that day. A young boy's body was found by an early jogger at the Hammocks Community Park. The boy was reported missing by his parents the night before his body was found.

"Eric, is there something you want to tell me? You have that look again, is it something that I should be concerned about?"

"No Cal, I think it's something positive but my only concern is that how you will take what I am about to tell." "Eric, what is it- is there something wrong? Tell me- you are making me anxious."

"I quit my job; I have decided to go back to being a CSI." He said with a smile on his face. Calleigh was speechless for a minute there until she has fully absorbed what Eric just told her.

"I am going to talk to H , I know it's kind of sudden but I have been thinking about this even before the whole investigation with the evidence theft. My heart just isn't in it."

Calleigh pondered on her words. "Babe, are you absolutely sure that it is what you want? I mean, it has not been a year since you left CSI... do you think you are ready to go back?"

"Cal, I am sure... I was wrong about leaving in the first place but taking the time off made me realize that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. And we will be working together again...Cal, are you not happy?"

"Of course I am! Whatever makes you happy babe." She leaned forward to hug and kiss him. "I love you." Eric reached for the chilled bottle of Champagne and tried to open it when Calleigh stopped him.

"Ummm, I can't have Champagne tonight. My tummy has not been feeling good lately- it might be my hyperacidity again. Can I just pass and have some apple juice instead?"

Calleigh remembered that she might be in that delicate condition but did not have the heart to tell Eric what her actual reason for not drinking is. The rest of the night was spent cuddling in their ever comfortable couch watching the World Cup. Eric carried Calleigh to their bedroom when she dozed off in the couch. As they lie down in bed with Cal's head on Eric's chest and Eric caressing her arms he can't help wanting to kick himself for not having the courage to ask Cal again. He felt it was not the right moment. Eric thought as he closed his eyes.

They both have a huge day ahead of them- Eric with his appointment with H and Calleigh with her test results.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Calleigh woke up to the wonderful sensation of soft lips on her bare shoulder. "And good morning to you too, Mr. Delko." She said with a smile while turning her head towards Eric to kiss him. Eric readily responded initializing the first stage of their daily morning ritual. Calleigh drew back as the kiss deepened. She has to be at the Lab earlier than her usual time and if she lets this go on then she would definitely be late.

"I'm sorry babe; I have to be at the lab early today. I still need to finish up my reports for the Davis boy's case yesterday. I don't want to be late."

Eric answered her in between kisses, "So you'd prefer to go to work early than this?" His right hand slowly caressing her rib cage and dangerously making its way upward. Calleigh hastily place her hands on Eric's to stop him. "I'll make it up tonight" as she gave him a quick peck."Promise!" As she got out of bed and on her way to the shower Eric said that he'd go prepare breakfast.

"Umm Eric, can you get me a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and apple slices please?"

"That's unusual- what happened to coffee and brown toast?"

"I'm just really hungry." as she closed the shower door. Calleigh is kind of feeling guilty keeping this pregnancy thing from Eric but tonight she will definitely tell him.

After finishing up her breakfast, she rushed to get her purse and car keys. "So I'll see you later at the Lab?"

"Yeah, I'll be there at around 9:30." She then gave him a quick kiss when Eric held her hand. "Have I told you how much I love you?" Hearing those three wonderful words from Eric never fails to melt her heart.

"Everyday...I love you too babe." she countered staring into chocolate brown eyes."I am truly happy that we'd be working together again. I'll catch you later...bye!"

-0-

As they rushed to the house, they saw the woman lying on her kitchen floor surrounded by a pool of blood from an obvious hole in her forehead and her little girl clutching the rag doll close to her chest and saying over and over in between sobs, "Mommy fall down." It was heart wrenching. Crime scenes like this still gets to Calleigh every time. They responded to the scene based on a clue from a puzzle the team pieced together. All of them received an anonymous unmarked envelope with the puzzle pieces inside. Unfortunately, they were unable to make it on time.

The smell of blood was making Calleigh nauseous,"Jesse, can you please finish up here- I am going outside to let Horatio know about these checks." She found some checks issued to Janice Potter, the victim, from the Dade University and had a strong hunch that this might be connected to the case.

"Are you okay Calleigh? You look pale."

"I'm fine. I'll wait for you outside."

For the past week, her olfactory senses are in overdrive; lately her nose has been very sensitive to all sorts of smell. She must really be pregnant because she never felt like this before.

Back at MDPD, Eric met up with Horatio. He still could not figure out how to open up on the matter of coming back to CSI. Horatio informed him of the envelopes each of the CSI received that contained the puzzle pieces that led them to the murder victim.

"Why would they target us"? Eric realized that he actually said "us".

Horatio was too keen not to notice it. "I think I heard an "us" in there."

"Yes that's right...while I was gone; I realized this is where I wanna be."

He can see a smile starting on H's face;"Then I'll have you full time."

Eric felt relief hearing those words from H; "I'm back if you'll have me."

"That's good news! First order of business..." H said as he handed Eric the checks Cal found in Janice Potter's purse, "Let's find out who the soccer mom really works for, okay?" and with a smile H said "Good to have you back."

While they were alone in the elevator Horatio asked him, "Does Calleigh know?"

Eric was a bit taken aback by his question. "Yeah, she knows I wanted to come back and she's all for it. I'll call later to tell her the good news."

-0-

Calleigh was just coming out of the AV Lab with Nat when her phone rang. "Calleigh Duquesne."

"Hi Calleigh! I'm Sylvia – from Dr. Diaz's office."

"Hi Sylvia! I believe you got the results already?"Calleigh heart started to beat faster.

"Yes we do and I'm happy to inform you that you are officially 6 weeks along. Congratulations!"

"Really!" Calleigh suddenly felt like crying;"Thanks!"

"Now, Dr. Diaz wants to see you next month for your prenatal."

"Yeah sure, is it okay if I'll call back later to set an appointment. I need to check my calendar."

"Of course! We'll just wait for your call then. Have a nice day!"

"Oh my God," Calleigh muttered to herself;"I am actually doing this!" She dialled Eric's number right away. She was ecstatic!

"Hey Cal, what's up?"

"So how did it go with Horatio?"

"Oh yeah, sorry I was not able to see you when I was there. Well, looks like CSI Delko's back full time; H was pleased to have me back so he wanted me to start right away. I'm on my way to Dade U to investigate on the checks you found in the vic's purse."

"That's awesome and this certainly calls for a celebration, do you want to go to Alejandro's tonight for dinner then?"

"Yeah, that would be great! I'll call them later to reserve a table for two. Okay, I'm here at the U now. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, ummm Eric"

"Yes babe?"

"Ummm... I'll just talk to you later. I'm just so happy right now... bye!" She desperately wanted to tell him the good news about her pregnancy but she felt that it would be better to tell him in person.

-0-

This was certainly one of the busiest days the Lab ever had! All of them were scrambling to solve the clues in time to save the victims. Eric and Ryan got to the Dade U faculty pool a little too late to save Neal Brusatti but fortunately Stephen Madsen survived being burned to death because of Walter and Natalia. The CSIs were getting frantic as they were going over Bob Starling's stuff – the last of "the would be" victim for clues that might lead them to the murderer. Ryan found a set of stamps that were identical to the stamps on the envelopes they received that morning. They then realized that the person they were protecting was actually the culprit. Calleigh immediately called Frank and Horatio to inform them of their findings.

"Can you smell that?" Calleigh asked her colleagues as they were at Trace cataloguing all of Brusatti's stuff.

"What Cal- Walter's new cologne?" Ryan said with a smirk on his face.

"I can't smell anything." Jesse said.

Calleigh was feeling nauseous again so she excused herself and headed to the Ladies Room. She washed her face as a lame attempt to stop the nausea she was feeling. She needs to finish her report on the gun used this morning so she headed back to Firearms. As she entered the room she suddenly felt tightness in her chest and was about to get her puffer when suddenly everything went black and she fainted.

-0-

Eric called the restaurant to book a table for tonight. "This will be the night" he thought. He just finished questioning Melissa's trainer at the gym to verify her alibi. As he got in the elevator he got a text message from H telling him they just booked Starling and was on their way back to MDPD. When he reached the Lab, the scene that was unfolding stunned Eric. Everyone in the Lab were all down on the floor. He ran towards Walter who was sprawled just outside Trace, he was unconscious but he could he hear that he was still breathing. Suddenly he remembered Calleigh and dashed to find her. He found her unconscious inside Firearms.

"Calleigh! Calleigh!" Eric could feel panic taking hold of him as he scrambled his way towards her.

He held her in his arms desperately trying to wake her up. "Breathe, breathe! Do you hear me?"

He couldn't hear her breathing at all. "Calleigh! Please,please."

He has never been so scared his whole life. "Oh God, please don't let this happen" he thought to himself.

"Somebody, somebody help!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

He realized that it is up to him to save his girlfriend's life. Eric desperately tried to remember his training on emergency situations.

"Alright Delko, think!" He assessed the situation and quickly deduced that it must be in the air that has caused everyone in the Lab to be unconscious.

His instinct told him to get Calleigh out of there as soon as possible. Eric felt his adrenalin kick in –in one move he lifted Calleigh and dashed to the elevator.

As the elevator door opened, out came Horatio and Frank.

"H! Everybody's down, it must be something in the air! Eric yelled."I need to get Calleigh out of here."

"Eric! Is she breathing? Get her out of here now! Frank! Call" Eric did not hear the rest of what Horatio said; all he was listening to was Cal's very faint heartbeat.

"Cal please, baby, don't do this to me!" After all the practice he got with Calleigh's two near death situations in the past year, Eric still could not control his emotions. Every single time, he feels like a wave of panic engulfing him and a sharp dagger piercing his heart.

The succeeding events were all a blur, all he can remember were the sound of sirens nearing as he finally managed to bring Calleigh outside of the building. The next thing he knew someone took Calleigh from his arms and laid her on a stretcher. A throng of medical people in face masks surrounded Calleigh. He saw them taking off her lab gown then he felt somebody pushing him away from her.

"I have to be with her...please save her! There's something in the air- everybody was unconscious. Her heartbeat is faint... she just had respiratory failure two months ago!

"Sir, we will do everything we can! You have to step back and take off your outer clothes. It is important to assess you too because we might be dealing with a nerve agent. You might have been exposed."

All of a sudden, the facade of MDPD was full of emergency response units. It was a picture of pandemonium all around him. There were fire trucks, ambulances, people started to rush out of the building, his co-workers brought out in stretchers. The H.A.Z.M.A.T. unit came in full force, cordoning off the area in their yellow orange suits.

"Who could have done this to them? Why was the Lab a target? Will Calleigh make it this time? These questions kept on running in his mind. Finally, he spotted Frank and Horatio making their way towards him. They too had a change of clothes and the three of them were asked to board the ambulance truck heading towards the hospital.

The Miami Medical Center was in full Code Triage status as paramedics and emergency personnel scrambled to assist the casualties as they were wheeled in to the Trauma Bay. Considering the urgency of the situation, the hospital seems to be well organized in handling this kind of crisis.

The trio were led to a big room with a couple of examination tables. A young doctor wearing a yellow protective hospital gown and an N91 mask examined Eric, Horatio and Frank. After a thorough neurological assessment and some blood works they were cleared and ushered in to a waiting room.

"H, I need to go back inside, I have to know how Calleigh is doing and the rest of the team!"

"Eric calm down. I'll go and see if I can find out anything. As of now, all you can do is hang on and hope for the best."

He just noticed Frank dozing off in the far corner of the room.

Eric looked out the window and watched the sun slowly fading in the horizon as he wondered.

"Will I ever hear her sweet voice again and gaze at her beautiful green eyes? Will I be able to feel her soft lips upon mine and the comfort of her gentle touch? Could it have been different if I has ask her to be my wife sooner? Tonight could have been the night. Eric could feel tears stinging his eyes. He can't help but recall the day when he walked away from Calleigh.

"So why are you going?" she asked.

"A lot of reasons." He answered still not thinking too clearly. "Life's too short?"She filled in with a forced laughter.

"Yeah, basically."

"And what about you and me?" she asked bravely.

How can he be so stupid! He just hated the way he handled the situation and if only he can turn back the time. He once said that he can't imagine his life without her and it could have never been more true now. His thoughts were interrupted with the opening of the door.

He was glad to see Alexx ,following behind was Horatio. Alexx approached him and gave him a motherly hug. He saw the look of concern in her face.

"Alexx , it's good to see you. How's Calleigh? "

"I was off duty for the day but I came as soon as I heard the news!" Alexx said.

"So how's the team Horatio?" Frank came up behind Eric.

"Ryan, Walter and Natalia and most of the Lab Techs are doing fine. They were given a dose of Atropine. They have to be observed for a couple of hours and will be released thereafter." Horatio replied.

"What about Calleigh?" Eric's voice betrayed panic.

"Relax, Eric, Calleigh is doing fine but she needs to stay in the hospital overnight. She had the least amount of the nerve agent in her body but the doctors wanted to make sure there won't be any delayed reaction considering her medical history and her... She is definitely out of danger but she is still asleep." Alex assured him.

"Hold on Horatio." Frank interrupted."You never mentioned Jesse."

Horatio's face suddenly turned sombre." Jesse is in ICU, he banged his head on the edge of the table before he hit the floor. He had a massive Subdural Hematoma on his frontal lobe."

"So what kind of nerve agent was used?" Frank inquired.

"Sarin- Starling had an accomplice and that person succeeded in tampering the air vent with Sarin vapour."

Eric felt relieved to hear that Calleigh is all right but could not help but feel sad for Jesse even though he did not really know him that well.

"Eric, can I talk to you privately?" Alexx asked.

"What is it Alexx?"

"Come on outside- I just want to ask you about something."

He followed Alexx as she led him to a quiet alcove just outside of ER.

Eric was trying to figure out why Alexx wanted to talk to him but he could not come up with anything in his muddled brain.

"Eric, honey, I've been waiting for you to ask something about this but I guess you don't know."

"Alexx, I'm confused. What are you trying to say?"

"You were listed as her next of kin so we need you to sign a couple of consent forms –for the lab works and some tests. She also consented for you to have access to her medical records and make decisions for her in case she is not capable of doing that. "

"Yeah, I already know that Alexx, I did all that the last time she was hospitalized. "

"Eric, I am obligated to tell you as her next of kin about her overall health condition."

"But you already told me that."

"Not everything- I'm sorry, honey, that I am the one who has to tell you this...Calleigh is pregnant." Alexx said as she took his hand.

Eric did not know what to say. He felt elation at the same time fear of the thought that he almost lost her. He also felt disappointment - not so much with Calleigh for failing to tell him but more with himself for not seeing the changes his girlfriend was experiencing. At once his thoughts were flooded with questions- why did she keep it from me? Did she have doubts about going through with the pregnancy? Finally he said, "She never told me—if something had happened I never would have known."

"Honey, listen, whatever you are thinking right now- Stop. I know Calleigh-she would never do anything irrational."

Suddenly it just occurred to him" Alexx, the baby –is he okay?"

"The baby is fine Eric, the heartbeat is normal. Calleigh is not too far along so just like in all other pregnancies there is always a risk. It is too early to tell if there will be any residual effect but as I said Calleigh got the lowest level of Sarin in her blood."

"Why is that Alexx?"

"I was wondering about that too until Horatio said that HAZMAT told him that the highest level of contamination was in Trace and the surrounding areas. You found Calleigh in Ballistics and in a way it saved her life. The Ballistics Lab has a special ventilation system separate from the rest of the Lab because of the lead contaminants. Horatio can explain it to you better; I'm kind of technically challenged."

"Thank you Alexx, for telling me. I am truly happy to hear this good news-us having a baby- it's just that –all that has happened – I would have preferred to learn about it in an entirely different circumstance."

"Excuse me, Dr. Woods."

Alexx turned to face a young nurse. "Umm, Miss Duquesne, she's awake now and she's asking for Eric Delko." Alexx gave Eric a nod to go.

Eric was controlling himself not to sprint to Calleigh's room - he could not wait to see her.

She was still beautiful lying in the hospital bed. She gave him a smile as soon as she saw him enter the room.

(To be continued)


End file.
